Paul, his apostleship, the collection, and the unity of Jews and gentiles

Abstract

In this dissertation the author questions an assumed consensus in New Testament scholarship, ht the history of Pauline research Paul has always been treated as a systematic theologian. Thus e.g. the understanding of Paul's concept of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles has shaped views of scholars on Paul's under- standing of his apostleship and his collection of money for the Jerusalem church. And the views on his office as apostle and on his task of the collection influenced each other. Investigating these issues the author makes four observations, a) It is Paul’s basic conviction that the eschatological people of God is a unity of Jews and Gentiles with the Jews in the first place, b) This is the underlying concept of first Paul's apostleship: his role m God's plan of salvation is to proclaim among the Gentiles their final incorporation into the people of God, and, second, Paul's collection: it is a means of expressing unity between Paul's Gentile Christian churches and the mother church in Jerusalem. Thus, it is a sign of the Gentile Christians' recognition of the prime importance of the Jews and, at the same time, of Jerusalem's recognition of the incorporation of the Gentiles into the people of God. c) However, Paul does not elaborate this basic conviction when talking about his apostleship or his collection of money d) Paul does not bring his role as an apostle into specific connection with his role as a collector of money. Thus, the author concludes that in order to establish the points Paul wishes to make he argues not on the basis of one theological system, but on the basis of several considerations and reasons. Paul, therefore, is no perfect systematic thinker, but rather a pragmatic churchman.